National Defence committee  Right.

National Defence committee  One almost needs to have an example in some detail to be able to answer that question. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. A commander in a coalition environment has to take all these different-shaped pieces of the jigsaw puzzle--those shapes being what each nation has put on in terms of

National Defence committee  Yes. Let me try to put it in some context. If we go back again to our experiences in the Balkans in the 1990s, and to some extent even in early 2000s, to be very blunt, we failed. We failed our soldiers, sailors, and airmen and air women--our soldiers more than anybody else, be

National Defence committee  Bearing in mind I haven't read the article, and I'm not particularly familiar with the author you've stated--

National Defence committee  I'll look it up, but I'm honestly not familiar with his work. I haven't come here to refresh myself in terms of counter-insurgency theory and doctrine, which is in part what one does when you start to quote principles. That said, the comments you made, just based on what you've

National Defence committee  I can certainly see where one could make an argument in that regard. It is a judgment call, as are all things. Bearing in mind that I don't know the specifics, but what I've read in the media indicates that something like 15 tanks are going, which is, to be frank, a very small nu

National Defence committee  Is it adequate?

National Defence committee  Yes. As I think I said earlier, it is probably some of the best equipment we've had in my time in uniform. But let me be clear: there are always deficiencies. It is virtually impossible in any.... You know, for every system there's a counter-system, and you're constantly playing

National Defence committee  You're stretching my memory, but I think the answer is yes. It seems to me we've always had those sorts of debates about whether there is an exit strategy and, if there is, what it is. Frankly, it makes it a lot easier if you have a clear exit strategy--and politically and mili

National Defence committee  Yes. I would certainly stop short, though, of saying we don't have to worry about it until we know where we're going. One has to go a bit further than that. But you can also do it too early. The classic case in point is the first Gulf War, when the U.S. put down very clearly, “

National Defence committee  Communication obviously is a major challenge in this era, and I think all militaries have learned over the last couple of decades and have got better at it. There are always improvements to be made. It seems to me, however--and I hate to use the term again in a different context-

National Defence committee  I must admit, although I hadn't thought of it in quite that context, I would share the view. My only addition would be that while the military can play a role there, ultimately it's not the military role to explain the national objectives of why we're there. It can support that,

National Defence committee  I'm not sure I want to get drawn into particular comments, but let me clarify something from my perspective. Just so we're very clear, the focus has changed, but it's changed by design. If you go back and read the UN Security Council's resolution that authorized ISAF and you look

National Defence committee  I have to say, Mr. Chairman, that this is a complex area and I could spend hours in it. So stop me if I go too far. First, one of the common problems you have to deal with is availability. That is to say, we may know what we want, we may even have taken steps to get what we want

National Defence committee  I'm not sure I'm in a position to honestly respond to that in terms of a judgment. I would say that relative to the size of our overall mission, we're doing a considerable amount in the broad area--not just reconstruction, but in the broad development area. We have people in posi